Making it Work
by ShelbyandRachelforever
Summary: After a run in at the grocery store, Shelby makes a discovery about Rachel that just might be the thing to help Shelby work up the courage to tell her eldest daughter that she was wrong for leaving.
1. Chapter 1

Rachel pushed the stroller out of the grocery store and walked out to her car. She loaded the six grocery bags into the trunk and pulled her bottle of water out of one of them and tucked it into her oversized purse. Unlatching the carseat from the stroller, she carried the baby to the backseat of the car and placed it into the base. Making sure the baby was secure, she closed the door and broke down the stroller. She got it into the trunk and closed the lid. Reopening the back door, Rachel placed her purse on the floor and fished out her keys. As she pulled out the keys, she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Rachel?"

"Shelby." Rachel gasped and turned to see her biological mother. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I just had to get something for Beth." Shelby said, motioning to the blanket covered carseat in her hands. Rachel and Shelby hadn't seen each other in close to 8 months and it was clearly an uncomfortable reunion.

"I thought you were taking your dau-, uh, Beth to live in New York?"

"Yeah, I thought so too but Ohio is my true home. I love the city but I want Beth to have a backyard and a swing set."

"I see."

"So what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?" Shelby asked. It was the January of Rachel's junior year and Shelby was concerned why the girl wasn't in school, McKinley's Winter Break had ended four days ago and classes had resumed. Before Rachel could come up with an answer, cries erupted from the back seat. Shelby leaned a little past Rachel an noticed the three week old baby crying for her pacifier that had been dropped from her mouth. "Rachel?"

"I have to go." Rachel quickly said and reached into replace the pacifer. She shut the door and went to open the driver's door, when Shelby grabbed her arm.

"Rachel, is that your baby?" Shelby asked, still in shock.

"I have to go." Rachel repeated, trying to refrain from letting the tears in her eyes fall. Shelby let her go and Rachel slipped into the car and drove off.

Rachel made it home without breaking down and managed to get the baby and the groceries into the small house. Finn was at school and Carole was at work, leaving Rachel to care for her and Finn's newborn daughter. The groceries were put away and Rachel lifted the hungry baby from her carseat.

"Come on, Love Bug. Mommy is gonna feed you." Rachel whispered into the nearly bald head of the baby. Taking her up to the room the little family shared, she sat in the rocker and began to nurse the baby.

After the baby was done eating, Rachel rocked her until she fell asleep. Promising Carole that she would have the dishes done before she got home, Rachel placed the baby down in the bassinet that was located in the downstairs livingroom. Walking just a few feet way, into the kitchen, Rachel started the facuet and added some soap to the hot stream of water. She finished one load and was about to start another, when there was a loud knock on the door. Rachel checked on her baby before going to answer the door. Looking back one last time at the bassinet, Rachel opened the door.

"Shelby? Did you follow me here?" Rachel questioned the woman who was now standing at her front door.

"Can I come in?" Shelby asked and Rachel saw that she still had Beth with her and she didn't want the baby to get cold so Rachel nodded.

"Do you want any water or juice or something?" Rachel graciously asked and motioned for Shelby to sit on the couch.

"No, I'm good." Shelby said, setting the carseat down and taking off the blanket, revealing the blonde haired baby.

"She looks like Quinn." Rachel breathed out.

"Yeah but she has Puck's doofey grin." Shelby gently chuckled and looked up at her eldest daughter, noticing that she wasn't laughing. "I, um. I called Will to find out where you were staying. I wasn't sure if showing up here was a good idea but I had to know."

"Know what?" Rachel stupidly played as Shelby walked past her to peer into the bassient.

"She's yours." Shelby answered her own question. There was no doubt about it. The baby looked exactly like Rachel, right down to the little tuft of brown hair on her head. Shelby gently reached down and stroked the baby's chubby cheeks. "What's her name?"

"Madelyn. Madelyn Grace Hudson." Rachel smiled down at her daughter.

"That's very pretty, just like her." Shelby softly said and brushed a tear off her cheek with her thumb. "I should have been there for you."

"It's fine, I had Finn's mom." Rachel shrugged.

"No it's not fine. Since adopting Beth, I've learned a lot about what it means to be a mom. It's doing what is in the best interest of your child and being there when they need you most. It's about not giving up when they cry at all hours of the night and praising them when they do something right." Shelby said, turning to face her 8 month old. "Beth crawled the other day for the first time and I was so overwhelmed. I was happy that she was learning something new, sad that she was getting older and more independant but most of all I was hurting for not getting to see you do that."

"You were a surrogate and you signed a contract."

"Which I should have never done." Shelby said, looking back at Rachel. "And I shouldn't have told you that it's too late for us. I've been trying to work up the courage to call or stop by after glee but I'm too scared of your reaction. I don't blame you if you hate me or never want to see me again."

"I hated you for months and I never thought I could ever forgive you. When I had Maddy that all changed. I finally saw through your eyes and understood why you did what you did." Rachel said, glancing up at Shelby. "You didn't want to mess up the life I had. If I had given Madelyn up for adoption, I don't think I wouldn't feel any different than the way you feel."

"I guess we both see things different now that we are moms." Shelby said.

"Yeah, I guess so." Rachel agreed.

"How are you dealing with all of this?" Shelby asked.

"Um, well I am on maternity leave from school for another two weeks, then I'll be going back to school. Finn works nights at a warehouse so we can have some money to buy the things the three of us need. I babysit the neighbor's 3 year old son on weekends which pays for my part of the rent. It's tight right now but once he is done paying Vocal Adrenaline's Booster Club back, things won't be so bad."

"What about Glee?"

"Finn has been able to stay in the club but I won't be able too because I don't have anyone to watch Madeyln while I am rehearsing."

"Why not? What about her daytime sitter?"

"Finn's aunt watches her from 7:30 in the morning to 3:30 in the afternoon and has to go to work at 4:30. Glee starts at 4 and runs until 7. Carole would watch her but she doesn't get done with work until 6:30." Rachel tried to explain. "Glee was going to be my ticket to New York but getting pregnant at 16 kinda ruined that. I mean I'll still go to New York but it will just be harder to get into Broadway."

"What if I watched Madelyn for you?" Shelby suggested.

"I couldn't ask you to do that. You have Beth and I'm sure you have your own job."

"I give voice lessons four days a week, so I am home. When I have a student, Beth's nanny comes over to watch her, I'll have to ask but I am sure she wouldn't mind watching Madelyn too."

"That's nice of you to offer that but I can't afford to pay a nanny."

"You won't have to worry about paying her, I'll take care of it."

"No." Rachel shook her head. "That is too much."

"Rachel, I want to help you. I will do whatever it takes to help you finish school and go to college. Paying an extra $300 a month to Kassie, will be worth seeing you succed."

"Shelby, I can't ask that from you."

"You're not, I'm offering it. Think of it as paying you back for the trouble I caused you. Please let me do this for you, give me a chance to know my granddaughter and my daughter. Think about the little girls, they are realated and should know one another."

"Fine but we take things between us slowly." Rachel agreed. "I may not hate you but doesn't mean I've forgotten the things you said."

* * *

><p><strong>I really don't know about this one. It has been swimming in my head for several days and figured I would give it a go.<strong>

**Please be nice when reviewing.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Your mom was here?" Finn asked Rachel as he cradled Madelyn in his arms.

"Yes and she has offered to watch Madelyn during the week so we can go to school and glee." Rachel said, as she placed two small baggies of breast milk in the freezer.

"I don't think that is a good idea."

"Why not? She wants too, besides this will give us more time to spend together." Rachel said walking over to her boyfriend. "Shelby is trying to make things right and I honestly want to give her a chance."

"Nothing has changed since Regionals."

"A lot has changed, Finn. Both of us have become moms and we see the world differently than we did before the girls came into our lives."

"I still don't want Shelby watching Madelyn."

"Well I do." Rachel said raising her voice. "I want my daughter to have what I never had, which is to have Shelby be apart of her whole life. I want Madelyn to know the best parts of Shelby and not have to grow up thinking she was some evil sea hag. Shelby is going to watch Madelyn and that's final."

"We already told my Aunt she could do it."

"Because she was our only option, now we have another option and Shelby is the better choice. Her hours are more flexible and we won't have to be in a rush all the damn time."

"But my Aunt is reliable, Shelby couldn't even stay in your life for more than two weeks. What if she changes her mind AGAIN?" Finn asked, as Madelyn was passed to her mom. "Then I'm gonna have to sit here, hold your hand and console you all over again."

"Sorry for being such an inconvenience." Rachel snapped and stormed off upstairs to put the baby to bed. Finn followed her moments later with his jacket on ready to leave. The pair only get on hour after Finn gets home from glee to spend time together before he had to go work. When he walked into the room, Rachel was tossing his clothes into the corner of the room. "Seriously Finn, it isn't that hard to put your clothes in the laundry basket. Every day I have to clean up after you."

"Then leave them."

"I can't just leave them!" Rachel yelled.

"What is your problem?" Finn said, equally frustrated.

"You!" Rachel said, laying Madelyn down so she could use both hands to pick up all of Finn's things. "I everything around here. I make you dinner, I take care of OUR kid, I do your laundry and I don't get any help from you."

"Quit acting like you're the only one who is stressed." Finn rolled his eyes. "I have to go to school and work all day and almost all night. I don't get to lay around the house without having to worry about anything. I would love to trade places with you any day."

"So you think all I do is lay around the house?" Rachel scoffed.

"It takes 5 minutes to toss clothes into the washer, 2 minutes to put them in the dryer and another 5 minutes to fold them. Maddy only needs attention when she is hungry or needs a diaper change, which is every two to three hours and cooking dinner takes a half hour. What the hell do you do the rest of the time?"

"You're an ass." Rachel growled and walked out of the room.

"It's always me, isn't it?" Finn said, following her down to the livingroom.

"Yeah, it is." Rachel whipped around to face him. She stopped mid-flight so they could continue their fight. "You won't do anything else around here but have no problem complaining."

"About what? Shelby?" Finn asked. "That is why you are so mad, because I don't trust Shelby to watch the baby."

"This isn't just about Shelby, I-"

"I don't care Rachel, do whatever you want." Finn said, pushing past her to do to the door. "I'm leaving."

"So am I."Rachel retaliated.

"Where are you going?" Finn asked, opening the door. "You gonna run over to your mommy's house?"

"Yes." Rachel answered. At first her plan was go to Mercedes or Kurt's house but Finn mentioning going to Shelby's was the perfect thing to piss him off.

"I don't want Madelyn around her." Finn said, slamming the door.

"Too bad, she is my daughter and I will take her where ever I want." Rachel replied, stomping up the stairs.

She expected Finn to come after her to stop her but seconds after walking into the bedroom, she heard the door slam shut. Halfway through packing her things for the night, Rachel realized it was pointless to leave. Finn was going to be gone until 1:30, long after she was already in bed. Tossing the duffel bag in the closet, Rachel laid on the bed and covered her head with the pillow.

This wasn't their first big fight, in fact it was their third in just two days. Since giving birth, Rachel and Finn had been fighting constantly. Usually it started over something small but then exploded in bigger issues. Rachel thought it was unfair of Finn to decide weather or not Shelby could be around Madelyn or not. She understood that Shelby hadn't been the most reliable and consistent parent figure in Rachel's life but so many events had taken place in the last several months. Both women had started to see things in a different light and each felt like there was a place in the world for them to be family.

Rachel was woken up six times in the night to take care of Madelyn and the fourth time she woke up she found Finn had arrived home and was now sleeping beside her. The sixth time she got up, Finn was in the shower getting ready to go to school. Madelyn needed to be fed and Finn's breakfast needed to be made.

"Thanks." Finn mumbled as he sat down to eat the eggs and toast.

"Yup." Rachel replied back and went upstairs, leaving Maddy with her dad.

A half hour later, Finn came upstairs to drop off the baby and to get his book bag. Giving Rachel a kiss on the cheek, he put on his jacket.

"What are you two doing today?" He asked, trying to make a conversation.

"She's growing out of her newborn clothes and doesn't have much 0-3 so I have to go to the thrift store to get her some clothes. Then I have to do some laundry today as well as clean up our room." Rachel explained as she gathered up the dirty clothes to do a load or two before she went shopping.

"How much are you going to spend?" Finn asked.

"How much do we have is the question?"

"I have to pay VA tomorrow so that will leave us with $100 until I get paid on Friday." He said. "Will $20 be enough?"

"I'll make it work." Rachel sighed. It wasn't that Rachel had to shop at the thrift store that bummed her out, because she really did like shopping there but she wished she had more money to spend on her daughter.

"Alright, well I have to go." He said, giving his girls one more kiss.

"Okay, have a good day and tell Kurt to call me later."

"I will." Finn said before he left the house.

Rachel checked make sure Maddy was strapped in her swing before she went down to the laundry room to start Finn's work clothes. Grabbing an apple on the way up to her room, she began eating it as she laid on the bed. The rest of the morning was spent going between laundry and playing with the baby. Around 10am, Rachel was just getting out of her shower when her cell rang.

"Hello?" She said, not bothering to check the ID.

"Rachel? It's Shelby."

"Oh, hi." Rachel smiled into the phone.

"I hope I didn't wake you up or anything."

"No, I was just getting out of the shower. What's up?" Rachel asked, sitting on the bed in only a damp towel.

"Beth and I were going to the mall in the few and I thought maybe you and the kiddo would like to join us. If you aren't busy today." Shelby quickly added as she seemed nervous about Rachel's answer.

"That would be great." Rachel replied

"Do you want me to pick you up or just meet there?"

"Maybe you could come get me? It would really save me on gas."

"No problem. I will be there in 30 minutes?"

"Sounds good."

"Alright, see you soon Rach."

"Bye Mom." Rachel said and snapped the phone shut when she realized what she said.

How could she say that? It probably freaked Shelby out and now she wasn't going to show up. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she got dressed and packed up Madelyn's things in case Shelby did decide to still come and get her. The two girls waited at the front door when the time got closer but when Shelby was 15 minutes late, Rachel started to cry. She had messed this up in not even 24 hours. A car horn, broke her from her sobs and she looked up to see Shelby's SUV in the driveway behind her car. Wiping her eyes, she hurried out the door. Shelby got out and walked around the car to help Rachel get the car seat in.

"I had an extra base so I installed it before we left. Yours should fit in it, they are the same brand." Shelby said as she watched Rachel try to lift the car seat up into the seat but her height and the weight of the car seat worked against her. "Want me to do it?"

"Sure." Rachel said and passed Madelyn over to her. Shelby had no problem getting her snapped in and she shut the door. "Thanks."

"Your welcome." Shelby smiled and noticed Rachel's red eyes when she opened the trunk for the girl to put the stroller in. Waiting until they were in the car and out of the drive way, Shelby turned down the radio. "You okay, Rachel?"

"Yeah, I just- I thought-I thought I freaked you out." Rachel admitted, knowing the slip up would have been brought up eventually anyway.

"I mean, yeah it freaked me out but in a good way. You haven't called me mom since the disastrous Lady Gaga dress fiasco." Shelby internally chuckled at remembering Rachel standing before her with stuffed animals stapled to a dress. "It's good to hear you call me that, even though you didn't mean too because subconsciously, it's your way of telling me that you are really wanting to work this out with me."

"I guess that's one way to look at it." Rachel said quietly and looked out the window.

"Is there any other way?" Shelby questioned.

"Sorry, starting today off on a down note probably wasn't your idea of a good time."

"If something is bothering you, you can talk to me about it." Shelby told her. "I told you that I want to be there for you and not just physically but mentally and emotionally."

"Thanks." Rachel said, glancing at Shelby. "But for now, I just want to have a good time with you and not get into all the stuff that is going wrong in my life or what happened 8 months ago."

"I can do that too."

Once they were inside the mall, Rachel let Shelby take the lead in which stores they went into. The first store visited was the Gap, Rachel thumbed through the clearance rack and came across three onesies that totaled $5. Shelby didn't even touch the clearance rack and by the end of her walk around the store, she dropped $250 on Beth. Rachel was shocked as Shelby willfully handed over her credit card. She must get paid a lot from her voice lessons to be able to drop serious cash like that. Shelby noticed the look on Rachel's face and explained that VA's booster club paid her a hefty monthly check.

"They pay you?"

"Yup, I pretty much created Vocal Adrenaline myself so they pay me to continue using the name and other things like that."

"Oh. That must be nice." Rachel said, again wishing she could spoil Maddy like that.

"Uh, I got you and Madelyn some things too." Shelby said handing her two bags to break the uncomfortable silence. Rachel opened the bags and looked at all the baby clothes Madelyn and gotten and then looked through her bag of clothes. "If you want to return any of it, just let me know."

"No." Rachel shook her head. "I love it all. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Oh, that reminds me, I have a boxes of clothes that don't fit Beth anymore. It's mostly 0-3 and 3-6 months but there is a lot in there that she hadn't even worn. If you are interested, I could drop them by sometime or we could go to my house before I take you home."

"That would be great." Rachel grinned at Shelby's generosity.

The four continued their shopping for another two hours when Shelby mentioned she was hungry. They found a table to eat at and unloaded all of their things.

"What are you in the mood for?"

"Um, I'll just have a salad from Subway. Everything but peppers, no meat or cheese and I'll have Italian dressing." Rachel said as she handed Shelby the twenty dollar bill.

"No, keep it."

"But you've spent so much on us already." Rachel shook her head.

"And five bucks more isn't going to kill me." Shelby said, pushing the money back.

"And five bucks isn't going to kill me." Rachel countered, becoming just as stubborn as Shelby.

"Fine." Shelby said taking the money. She returned to the table after getting their food and sat down. Rachel helped Shelby separate their lunch and the older woman placed the twenty dollar bill next to Rachel's meal.

"Shelby." Rachel sighed.

"I only agreed to take it, I never agreed to use it." Shelby smirked at her technicality.

"Clever but next time, I am buying." Rachel stated.

"Alright, deal." Shelby agreed. "So you'd want to do this again?"

"Of course, I really am having a good time getting to know you." Rachel smiled. She continued to eat and glanced over at Beth who was grinning at her. In her baby voice, she grinned at her little sister. "Whatcha lookin' at cutie pie?"

Beth laughed at Rachel's voice and silly faces. "You can hold her if you want."

"What do you think, Beth? Shall we dance?" Rachel asked the infant as she unstrapped her from the stroller. Beth reached up to grab a chunk of Rachel's hair and Rachel's cat like reflexes kicked in and she managed to block her hair from Beth. "Ha! I'm faster than you."

"She seems to like you Rachel." Shelby smiled, watching her two daughters interact.

"Well then she is nothing like Quinn." Rachel joked, then turned to Shelby seriously. "Is it hard to look at her and know that she'll never have any facial features like yours?"

"It was at first. People would assume that she's my niece or granddaughter and I wanted to break down and cry, wishing everyone would see that she's mine but after a while I just got use to it. Her hair is darkening to Puck's shade though so maybe that will help."

"Has Quinn or Puck seen her?"

"Not since the hospital. They both know how to get in contact with me when they are ready to see her and I do want them to be involved in her life but not until they are ready." Shelby said, taking the last bite of her sub. "I don't want them to feel the way I did when I gave you up and I don't want Beth to feel the way you did and not know who or where her parents are."

"They are all so lucky that it was you who adopted Beth. You know what it is like." Rachel said and kissed the top of Beth's head. "She'll always have a mom in her life."

"Rachel, I-"

"No. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that, you're here now and trying." Rachel said, staring down at the top of Beth's head, not able to look up at Shelby. The woman stood up from her chair and walked over to Rachel. Kneeling down in front of her, she placed her hand under Rachel's chin. Tears were in the teenager's eyes and that made matching ones fill Shelby's. "I just wanted you there."

"I know and I wanted to be there so badly. Even when you were full grown, I shouldn't have left but I thought you were doing so good without me and you have been. Look at you, you're a mom now and a very good one. I have never seen someone so attentive to their child like you are."

"I want my baby to have what I never had."

"You are doing a great job with what you have." Shelby assured her. "Madelyn will always see that and if not, I'll be there to remind her how amazing you are, Okay?"

"Okay." Rachel nodded and used on hand to brush away her tears.

"I love you Rachel." Shelby said, hugging her daughter for the first time since their Poker Face duet.

"I love you too." Rachel whispered into her mom's ear and then a hiccuped sob escaped from her lips. "Just please don't ever leave me again."

"I won't." Shelby gently said with all her heart. "I'm gonna be here, always."

"Good." Rachel lightly giggled and Shelby pulled back to sit down in her seat.

As Rachel brushed the rest of her tears away, her phone buzzed in the cup holder on Madelyn's stroller. The loud, sudden noise woke up Maddy and she began crying. Panic set through Rachel as she tried to answer her phone, put down Beth and pick up Madelyn but Shelby held her hands up to Rachel.

"I got the baby, you take your call." Shelby said and grabbed her granddaughter from the carseat that was attached to the stroller. "Hey pretty girl."

"Hey babe." Rachel answered her phone and looked down at Beth, who was growling at her mom. Clearly Beth was not happy to see Shelby holding another baby. Shelby signaled that Madelyn needed a diaper change and Rachel pointed to the diaper bag and mouthed a thank you. "What's up?"

"Nothing, I came home for lunch but you aren't home. Where are you?"

"The mall, eating a salad." Rachel answered. Beth began to miss Shelby and started the water works. "Hold on Finn."

"Alright." Finn said, confused. Rachel set down the phone and reached into Beth's diaper bag, looking for a pacifier or toy. Finding a peacock shaped stuffed rattle, she waved it in front of Beth and the girl calmed down.

"Sorry, I'm back."

"Who are you with?"

"Shelby and Beth. Well just Beth right now because Shelby is changing Maddy's diaper in the bathroom."

"Alone?"

"Yeah, Finn. I mean she is fully capable of doing that. She has only been doing it everyday, 5-10 times a day for 8 months." Rachel huffed with an eye roll. "And before you go off and start another fight, you might as well save your breathe. The four of us are having a good time."

"What have you been talking about?"

"Not much, mostly the kids and what we have been doing since we saw each other months ago." Rachel answered and took a bite of food. "She bought the baby and I some stuff too, plus she has a couple boxes of baby clothes that Beth doesn't fit anymore that she is giving to us."

"She's just trying to buy your love."

"Why are you so against Shelby?" Rachel asked. "She didn't hurt you, so there is no reason to be so negative with her."

"She hurt you, therefore she hurt me."

"Well she is making me feel happy now, so you should be happy."

"That's not the way it works."

"Seriously, this is annoying. You need to get over it and accept that I am trying to make it work with my mom." After another 4 minutes of fighting about who does what around the house, Rachel and Finn hung up. As she was placing her phone down, Shelby returned to the table with a better smelling Maddy.

"Things aren't going so great are they?" Shelby asked, having heard the last few minutes but not that the fight about her.

"Not particularly no." Rachel sighed. "It's been very tense between us lately."

"That can happen with a new baby. I mean I wouldn't know personally but I've heard that."

"I know but the more we fight, the more I want to move out." Rachel admitted out loud for the first time.

"I'm sure your dads would be happy to have you home again."

"Not exactly." Rachel said.

"They didn't take your pregnancy news very well, did they?"

"They were mad but were willing to support me. I wanted Finn to move in with us, however, my dads weren't happy with that and then Carole suggested that I move in with them and I agreed. That really pissed them off and they told me if I left to not come back."

"Oh gosh. I didn't think they would be that way." Shelby shook her head.

"Me either but it is what it is." Rachel said, finishing her lunch.

Rachel decided it would be easier to just stop at Shelby's to get the clothes, than for Shelby to waste gas and drive back another day. Her house was on the way, so it wasn't a big deal. Entering the house, Rachel was surprised at how spacious it was for just two people. A little yorkie came running up to the pair as they walked with the babies.

"You got the dog you wanted." Rachel muttered.

"She was too cute to pass up." Shelby smiled, petting the little fur ball. "The clothes are upstairs."

Shelby lead Rachel up to Beth's light green nursery and placed the infant in her crib with some toys so she could get the three boxes from the closet. Shelby showed her how each box was organized and once they had loaded the stuff in the car, Shelby drove them back to Finn's.

"I really appreciate this. You didn't have to do anything for me but you did." Rachel said as she opened her door.

"No need to thank me, seriously." Shelby smiled and leaned over the console to hug Rachel goodbye. "Let me know about dinner on Sunday."

"I will." Rachel said as she got the infant seat from the back. Shelby had invited her and Finn over for dinner that weekend so Finn could see for himself that Shelby was a different person.

An hour after getting home, Rachel received a text from Shelby.

_If you ever need a place to stay, even if you just need to chill out for a few hours, my door is always open._


	3. Chapter 3

"Why are we here?" Finn asked Rachel as they stood on Shelby's front porch. He pulled on the itchy sweater, Rachel forced him to wear and groaned when he heard Shelby call out from the inside of the house.

"Finn, be nice. You promised you wouldn't make any rude comments." Rachel said, reaching down to smooth her pleated skirt that Shelby had purchased earlier that week.

"Okay but we are only staying for dinner and then getting out of here as soon as-" Finn said but stopped as Shelby opened the door. "-Hi, Miss Corcoran."

"Hello, Finn and please call me Shelby." She smiled and opened the door further for the small family to walk in. Rachel set the carseat down and shrugged off her jacket, which Shelby took for her and hung up on the coat rack.

"Hi, sweetie."

"Hi Shelby."

"Beth is taking a nap in livingroom, if you want you can put Maddy in the swing." Shelby said and after Rachel agreed, she lead her into the rather large space and waited for Rachel to get her daughter settled. Turing behind her to look at Finn, she motioned to the huge flat screen TV. "You can watch the football game if you want."

"I'm fine." Finn said and the three walked into the kitchen. "So how long to plan to stick around this time?"

"Finn!" Rachel gasped and then glared at her boyfriend.

"It's okay Rach, it's a very reasonable question." Shelby said, touching Rachel's should before she sat down."Finn, I know I have made some bad choices in the past and I can't change what I did but I can make a relationship happen with you three."

"I get that you are sorry but why now? Because Rachel had a kid? Where were you when she was pregnant? or when she was in labor? Rachel didn't have anyone there to support her, you should have been there."

"She didn't know Finn. She didn't know that I was pregnant, so there was no reason for her to be there." Rachel said, growing tired of Finn's attitude towards Shelby. Sure she had her own issues regarding Shelby and wanted to punch her in the head for walking away but then again she just wanted to make it work with Shelby.

"Had she not walked away, then she would have known." Finn said.

"Don't you think I don't know that?" Rachel shouted. "Don't you think there were times, I wanted to call her or show up here and scream at her for what she did to me? When we were at the mall, there were so many times I wanted to just yell at her for everything wrong that happened in my life, like it was her fault. It wasn't only her fault that she wasn't there for Madelyn's birth. I refused to call her and tell her. Your mom and I had so many talks about whether or not I should call Shelby and I refused each time."

"Okay, this is getting a little out of hand." Shelby said, seeing that there obviously a dividing like between the two about her being in their lives. Shelby placed her hand on Rachel's shoulder and told her to calm down. "Look I didn't want tonight to be a big fight. I wanted us to all sit down and figure where to go from here and for you Finn to see that I am serious about being a mom to Rachel."

"We don't need your help." Finn scoffed. "Rachel and I are doing just fine."

"No, we're not Finn. We are definitely not fine." Rachel shook her head. "We have a baby and are juniors in high school, and technically I am not in high school at the moment. We can't even be in the room for more than 10 minutes before we starting bitching about how loud the other is breathing. You're tired from working all the time and I am tired from taking care of the baby by myself for practically the whole day."

"I'm going take you up on your offer and watch some TV." Finn said, standing up and leaving the room.

"He does this every time." Rachel sighed, laying her head on the counter top. "We can never just talk things out. It either ends up in a fight or we just stop talking all together."

"You both are under a lot of pressure and aren't seeing what the other person goes through on a daily basis. I am sure you would love to switch places with him, right?"

"Yeah. He gets to see his friends, go to school and glee." Rachel said, missing all three.

"And you miss being around other people and just getting to be a teenager?" Shelby asked and Rachel nodded. "I bet Finn wishes he could have your day job too. He'd get to be with his two loves and get more than just an hour or two each day during the weekdays to spend with you. How would you feel if you only got to see Finn and Maddy an hour at night and an hour in the morning?"

"It would kill me." Rachel whispered, not being able to fathom the idea of not having time to enjoy her family. "I never really thought about how he felt."

"It's easier to point out the things you wish you could have than to see the things you do have, in situations like this." Shelby said. The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Shelby spoke again. "So how did the Vegan thing work when you were pregnant?"

"Not very well. I mean I stayed true to my beliefs as much as possible but there were times I craved non-vegan friendly foods." Rachel said to the meaningless conversation. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy their time alone without kids but Rachel was worn out.

An hour later, Shelby announced dinner done. After several attempts by Shelby to start a conversation, she gave up and finished her meal. Rachel had tried to keep up with Shelby's topics but there was a lot of tension between her and Finn. She felt torn about interacting with her mom. Rachel knew that if she wanted to talk with Shelby, she could but she knew it was also irritating Finn.

Finn excused himself when his plate was cleared and returned to the livingroom. Rachel got up and started to rinse off both of their plates but the stress of fighting with Finn over the last several weeks began to seep through and she began to cry. Shelby heard the small sobs and looked over her shoulder, seeing Rachel hunched over the sink. Getting off her seat, Shelby stood next to Rachel and began to rub her back.

"Hey, it's okay." Shelby soothed.

"I can't do this anymore." Rachel cried. "I'm tired of running on three hours sleep, I am tired of fighting with Finn, I am tired of it all."

"I know. You're doing a very good job so far. Madelyn is still a newborn and will sleep through the night before you know it. You and Finn will be okay, you're still adjusting to it all." Shelby grabbed a napkin from a bag on the counter and used it to wipe Rachel's face.

"What about your offer?" Rachel asked, nervously at springing this on Shelby. "I know that it has only been a few days but I really think Finn and I need some time apart. For awhile."

"Lets go upstairs and talk." Shelby said, figuring this as a serious talk that Finn didn't need to walk into at the wrong time. She took Rachel up to her bedroom and the two sat on her bed. "If you really feel like moving out of Finn's house is what you want to do then of course you can come here for as long as you need."

"Thank you so much." Rachel smiled.

"You're welcome. However, I think you need to take a couple days to make a real choice and to talk to Finn about this. All of a sudden throwing out that you want to move out with his daughter, isn't going to go over well. I mean it is going to be hard for him to deal with anyway but this way he gets a little bit of a heads up."

"Rachel?" Finn said, coming into the room several seconds after Shelby finished speaking. "Madelyn is hungry and I forgot her bottles at home."

"Alright, I'll feed her." Rachel said, not having any option. She stood up and took Madelyn from Finn. He turned around and left the room. Rachel glanced at Shelby, unsure if breastfeeding was a touchy subject with Shelby as she never got to do it. "Is it okay if I feed her in here?"

"Of course but if you want there is a rocking chair in Beth's room you can use."

"That would be great." Rachel nodded and followed Shelby to the nursery.

Once Rachel was settled in the rocking chair, Shelby left Rachel to feed Madelyn and returned to the kitchen to finish cleaning up. Beth was crying for her while she was doing the dishes, so she dried her hands and headed for the livingroom.

"It's okay, Mommy is here." Shelby cooed to the infant and a small scoff came from the couch. "Finn I understand that I did wrong by Rachel and if she can find it in herself to move past what happened, don't you think you owe it to her and your daughter to move past it too?"

"No. Rachel is over emotional and it's even worse since her hormones are out of wack. She is clouded by lack of sleep to see that you are using her for something. What is your angle? Huh? Are you trying to get back into coaching and need Rachel's talent?"

"No." Shelby shook her head. "I don't need Rachel to start coaching again. The second it hits the wind that I am looking to coach again the offers will come flying in, just like they did when everyone found out I was leaving Vocal Adrenaline. I was even offered jobs in Europe."

"Too bad you didn't take it." Finn muttered.

"You know Finn, you are a father and you need to start acting like an adult." Shelby said, walked out of the livingroom.

She went into the kitchen and began to fix Beth a bottle, then retreated upstairs to see how things were going with Rachel. Nudging the door open with her foot, Shelby leaned against the wall and watched Rachel.

"Seems a little weird, huh?" Rachel quietly said. "I mean you have an 8 month old daughter and a brand new granddaughter, while your daughter is still in high school. Are you sure about us coming to stay with you for awhile?"

"I am sure as sure can be. Quite honestly I think it is the best option anyway. Living with your 17 year old boyfriend is ridiculous, baby or not, it isn't something I would support. However, what I think is irrelevant and I can understand why you would want too."

"I thought we were doing what was best for the baby but it might have worked out better had I stayed at my dads." Rachel said.

"Maybe they'll let you move back in?"

"No, too much has gone on for me to want to do that. I mean, I'll probably call them up to rebuild a relationship but they were suppose to love me unconditionally and not tell me that I couldn't come back home, then not show up at her birth or try to come and see the baby."

"What if they aren't willing to repair their mistakes?"

"Then that is their fault. Madelyn needs to have stable people in her life, not ones that come in and out when it suits them." Rachel said and looked up at Shelby seeing that she went quiet. "You're different."

"Not by much." Shelby whispered.

"True but at least you're trying." Rachel said. After a few more minutes of talking, Rachel felt like she needed leave. Too much of her past emotions were being dug up and she didn't want to ruin anything between her and Shelby. Things were good with them and while she had a lot of resentment towards Shelby, she was too afraid to bring it up.

"Okay well call me Friday." Shelby said to Rachel as they walked down the stairs.

"I will and thanks for dinner." Rachel smiled.


End file.
